EXISTS
Synopsis
EXISTS select-statement
Arguments
Argument | Description |
---|---|
select-statement | A simple query, usually containing a condition expression. |
Description
The EXISTS predicate tests a specified table, typically for existence of at least a row. Since the SELECT statement following the EXISTS is being checked for containing something, the clause is often of the form:
EXISTS (SELECT... FROM... WHERE...)
where a typical statement might be:
SELECT name
FROM Table_A
WHERE EXISTS
(SELECT *
FROM Table_B
WHERE Table_B.Number = Table_A.Number)
In this example, the predicate tests for the existence of one or more rows specified by the subquery.
Note that the test must occur on a SELECT statement (not on a UNION).
The NOT EXISTS clause tests for the non-existence of a row in a table, as shown in the following example:
SELECT EmployeeName,Age
FROM Employees
WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT * FROM BonusTable
WHERE NOT (BonusTable.Result = 'Positive'
AND Employees.EmployeeNum = BonusTable.EmployeeNum))
EXISTS can be used wherever a predicate condition can be specified, as described in the Overview of Predicates page of this manual.
Where applicable, the system automatically applies Set-Valued Subquery Optimization (SVSO) to an EXISTS or NOT EXISTS subquery. For details on this optimization, and using the %NOSVSO keyword to override it, refer to “Query Optimization Options” on the FROM clause reference page.